Conventionally, conformable garments having discrete elasticized areas have been formed in a wide variety of ways and utilizing a wide variety of materials. In the past decade, or so, disposable diapers have become increasingly popular. More recently, such disposable diapers have been provided with elasticized leg openings to enhance both their appearance and fit.
One such elastic legged diaper is disclosed in Buell U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,003; while Buell U.S. Pat. No. 4,081,301 describes a process and apparatus for making such diapers. Another method of making elasticized products is disclosed in Bourgeois U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,367. Other elastic legged disposable diapers are disclosed in Woon et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,462 and in copending Sigl U.S. application Ser. No. 094,421, filed Nov. 15, 1979; Ryan et al. U.S. application Ser. No. 135,255, filed Apr. 4, 1980; and Frick U.S. application Ser. No. 181,821, filed Aug. 27, 1980, all of which applications are assigned to the assignee of the present application. Still other examples of elasticized diapers are disclosed in British application Nos. GB 2010628A and GB 2011778A; Australian application No. 43750/79; and South African application No. 77/4456.
While the foregoing elastic legged diapers and the methods and apparatus for making them have met with some success, there remains the desire to: improve the fabrication techniques for making elastic legged diapers and other conformable garments; reduce the amount of elastic required; and, improve the product made thereby in terms of both cost and functionality.